Gee, imagine that!

During 2005's winter season, I heard nothing but praise for Hugo Chavez and his offer of heating oil to the United States.

He is such a great leader!
He offers a true Democracy!
He is so much better than Bush!

Then he closed down an opposition station, (see hugo chavez and venezuela labels) and the defenses rolled in.

They wanted him dead and said so on the air!
He's not really limiting speech!

And now we have this- a referendum which will allow him to run for re-election indefinitely. Oh, and lets not forget his expanded powers, which include control of the central bank, redistricting at his own whim, and holding citizens without charge during an emergency. Does any of this sound familiar? Hmmmm, yes! I have heard these items are things (actual or very similar) which the "evil" George Bush has already done, or is trying to do.

I did not see any updates or stories on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ yet, but they will likely post it (late of course). I did not see a report on CNN. I did not find it on http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/ yet. I have not seen anything on the major newspapers, from what I have been able to find (or not to find). Perhaps there are some reports out there. After all, not all journalists are completely biased.

Oh, and the kicker. He threatens to cut off oil to the United States if there is any "interference" on their part. Guess all those Northeastern residents of the U.S. will have to freeze this year, now that the liberal-loved Chavez is no longer looking like such a nice guy.

The beginning of the end of Venzuelan free speech

In my endless search for the truth for issues in the world that interest me, I found myself reviewing an article from the AP staff, regarding the closure of Radio Caracas Television's (known as RCTV) VHF Channel 2. If you heard about it from reading Stephen Lendman of globalresearch.org (here), you might think that this all a good thing. After all, the evil "conservative" buzz words are there (hard-right, corporation), as well as the good "liberal" buzz words (public-television, diverse).

So, why do I care? It's simple. Chavez is held in very high regard by the liberal media, for allegedly promiting a political agenda which is good for all Venzuelans, indeed, a model for the entire world. They focus on positive economic advancement in the country, ironically, held together by the oil industry of the country (which is another story altogether). But what you won't hear from Lendman, or the rest of the liberal media, is as follows:

The media circus of Venezuela is controlled by the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television. Introduced in 2003, by Venezuela's legislature, the objective of the proposed LSR is to define and “establish the social responsibility of radio and television service providers, related parties, national independent producers, and users in the process of broadcasting and reception of messages, promoting a democratic equilibrium between their duties, rights, and interests, with the goal of seeking social justice and contributing to citizenship formation, democracy, peace, human rights, education, culture, public health, and the social and economic development of the Nation, in conformity with constitutional norms and principles, legislation for the holistic protection of boys, girls, and adolescents, education, social security, free competition, and the Organic Telecommunications Law.”

What makes this a hypocrisy is the fact that the channel was not shut down for any of the reasons stated above, in fact it goes against one of the basic tenents of democratic nations- free speech and competition. Within hours after the replacement channel (TVES) going online, we have pro-Chavez songs on the airwaves and government advertising. What I also find interesting are the comments from liberal viewers on places like huffingtonpost.com, who always seem to do three things, when it comes to stories like this:

1. They find some way to link Bush to a story, which has nothing to do with him.

2. They create some over-the-top scenario which involves Bush or Republicans.

Examples of HufPo comments on this story today:

May 28, 2007 08:12pm PM EDT
Hmmm ...wonder if this would happen here ..if Gingrich and the republicans shut down PBS like they've been trying to do for years
— Posted by Amunaka Flag as abusive

May 28, 2007 08:15pm PM EDT
Bu$hco probably can't wait to shut down all but Faux News. I'm sure they're mighty jealous.Of course, this network apparently had pundit actively supporting overthrow of the government. I wonder if Faux News will do that should a Dem get elected?
— Posted by lisakaz Flag as abusive

3. They ignore the true meaning of the story and the message it is meant to convey.

Make no mistake, this is only the beginning of more to come. File this story in your own personal archives for reflection later on, as more freedoms are stripped from the Venzuelan people.

wink-wink- Your freedom's are going away!